Use of electrodeposition for manufacturing of targets
Thomas Sounalet
SUBATECH, Ecole des Mines de Nantes, Université de Nantes, CNRS/IN2P3, 4 rue Alfred Kast GIler, La Chantrerie, BP 20722, 44307 Nantes, France; ARRONAX, 1 rue Aronnax, 44817, Saint-Herblain, France
Oral Presentation
None of the authors has any conflict of interest to disclose.
Our mission at the GIP ARRONAX installed in Nantes, France, is to make available nonstandard radionuclides for medical applications. In order to prioritize our work, in 2008, a radionuclide priority list has been defined which includes radionuclides for targeted therapy (211At (alpha emitter), 67Cu, 47Sc (beta- emitters)), radionuclides for imaging (82Sr for 82Sr/82Rb generator, 68Ge for 68Ge/68Ga generator, 64Cu and 44Sc for PET and pairs of radionuclides for theranostic purpose (beta+/beta- pairs like 64/67Cu, 44/47Sc). To this end, we irradiate targets with charged particles. The preparation of the target is one of the challenged we have to face. Indeed, the quality of the target i.e. its homogeneity, its uniformity, its composition and its thickness, is of great importance for an efficient production as well as to prevent target damages during irradiation. Several techniques exist for target preparation among which electrodeposition is able to fulfill all the above-mentioned requirements. To this end, we have developed an expertise on electrodeposition. In this paper, we will present our work on electrodeposition applied to prepare targets of 64Ni, 68Zn, natural Ga and Ni alloy and 154Gd to produce respectively 64Cu, 67Cu, 68Ge and 149Tb in the future.